Process of rendering potash compounds soluble.



rr s'trnrrns ATENT onruon.

FRANKLIN E. CARPENTER, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOIR TO THE AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL ALLOYS COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO, A CORPORATION OF COLORADO.

PROCESS OF BENDERING POTAST-I COMPOUNDS SOLUBLE.

No Drawing.

syndicate, and the cost is constantly advancing. It has been found, however, that certain granites and other rocks, especially those containing feldspars and micas, carry potash in a form that may be made available by fine grinding; but such rocks even after fine grinding are in their natural state al most, if not entirely, insoluble in ordinary acids, and, hence not at once available for plant life and at best only become available after greater or less periods of time after exposure to the action of the soil. Granite,

from which the supply of potash must mainly come, is also diflicult to pulverize,

but it is mainly to improve the solubilit of its potash minerals for the purposes of 6p ant life that my discovery proposes, an not especially to make them more easily pulverized. This case of solubility I accomplish by first heating crushed granite or other rocks in which potash minerals occur to a high heat, even to the fritting or fusing of the same either with or without flux, and then suddenly cooling the same in water, which brings about such a change in their composition or molecular construction that the formerly insoluble potash minerals be come readily soluble in certain acids, notably hydrochloric acid, hence directly available for plant life. After this heating, fritting or fusing and subsequent chilling, the material is ground to a fine powder and used as a fertilizer for soils in the manner of any other fertilizer.

It is well-known that potash compounds contained in granites and other rocks, especially those containing feldspar, are in- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 31, 1906.

Patented May 31, 1910.

Serial No. 350,099.

soluble, being in a crystalline condition. By my process, by first subjecting the rocks containing said compounds to a high heat and then suddenly chilling them the com pounds are changedfrom a crystalline to an amorphous form and are prevented from passing back to a crystalline form and in this condition they are soluble and available I for plant life.

In my process the heating step has-the elfect of loosening the molecular structure of the material and the sudden cooling or chilling causes the material to be held in this loosened condition. Furthermore, the chilling or the sudden cooling causes the material-to become vitreous and to retain the heat of crystallization which would be set freeif the material were cooled slowly and would thereby become crystalline. This occluded heat of crystallization renders the material easily decomposable in'the manner 1 and available for plant life and then finely grinding the same for use.

2.'The process of preparing rocks con taming potash compounds to render them" soluble which consists in intensely heating the same with a flux and then suddenly cooling them to change the compounds from a crystalline to an amorphous condition and then finely grinding the material for use.

3. The process of treating feldspathic rocks which consists in heating them-and then suddenly chilling them to change them from a crystalline to an amorphous state whereby they are rendered soluble and then reducing the material to a fine powder.

4. The process of treating feldspathic rocks, which consists in intensely. heating them to loosen the bonds of the molecular structure and then suddenly chilling the material to hold themolecular structure in this lOCkS, which consists in intensely heating condition and to render the material soluble ble and then reducing the material to afine and then reducing the material to a fine powder. powder. Q In testimony whereof, I have hereunto The, process of treating feldspathic subscribed my name.

FRANKLIN R. GARBENTER; Witnesses:

A. R McxmlsoN, E. D. DE SOTO.

them and then sucidenly ch lling the fuse matenai to cause it to retain the heat of crystallization and to thereby render it solu- 

